In the digitalization workshop of Zhejiang Chaqiankun Food Co., Ltd. in Changxing, a fully automatic production line is completing tea precision processing at a speed of 2 tons per hour, and the scene of precise stacking by robotic arms has replaced the noisy traditional workshop. This modern agricultural technology enterprise, established in 2006, has invested tens of millions of yuan to build an intelligent production line. It has not only solved the problem of mass production quality, but also improved efficiency by 300% after technological transformation. It has also maintained its leading position in the export of bagged tea in China with sales exceeding 200 million yuan in 2024.

Entering the clean workshop covering an area of 2000 square meters, only one worker can be seen on duty in the feeding area. The intelligent sensing system monitors 12 processes of tea color selection, drying, and cooling in real time. The most crucial screening step is the AI color sorter, which uses advanced infrared deep AI foreign object removal and recognition technology to improve the screening accuracy of tea stems, old leaves, and non tea foreign objects to 99.7%. The workload that used to require 6 to 7 skilled workers can now be completed 24/7 with just one device, "said Liu Jin'e, the director of the General Office, pointing to the high-speed color sorter. The intelligent algorithm equipped on this device can autonomously learn the characteristics of tea from different production areas, ensuring the uniformity of the quality of mixed raw materials.

This production line, which integrates robot operation, numerical control analysis, remote transmission and other technologies, has overcome the three major bottlenecks that restrict the development of the tea industry: through intelligent implementation of scientific proportioning of raw materials in multiple production areas, relying on online moisture detectors to dynamically adjust drying parameters, and using spectral analysis technology to control the color of finished products. It is these technological innovations that enable the stable sale of over 30 tea beverage products developed by the company in international markets such as Japan and the European Union.

At the demonstration base of the agricultural "Double Strong" project in Chukang Village, Si'an Town, the intelligent experience of Chaqiankun is being transformed into industry standards. Enterprises will extend IoT technology to the planting end and establish a full chain digital control system from tea gardens to tea cups. The export data for 2024 shows that its tea bags have a market share of over 18% in Japanese supermarkets.

The industrial production of agricultural products must address the quality fluctuations caused by natural factors, "Liu Jin'e said as she picked up a box of tea bags that were about to be sent abroad. By establishing a raw material database containing climate and soil data, the intelligent system can automatically adjust processing parameters to ensure that consumers maintain the same taste of products purchased in different seasons. This technological accumulation has enabled the enterprise to be selected as one of the top 30 agricultural science and technology enterprises in Zhejiang Province for three consecutive years.

Standing in front of the intelligent three-dimensional warehouse, the AGV handling robot is classifying and storing tea products that have passed the inspection. This warehousing system with an investment of 1.72 million yuan has increased shipping efficiency by three times and reduced error rates to below one in ten thousand. With the launch of the second phase of smart factory construction, Chaqiankun plans to apply AI technology to new product development, analyze overseas consumption trends through big data, and develop high value-added products such as functional tea drinks.

At present, the enterprise has established academician expert workstations, especially the recently developed jasmine oolong tea. After entering the market, its production and sales have continued to grow rapidly, becoming the leading product and filling the domestic gap in key links and fields of the industrial chain. The enterprise is also the first domestic standard setter for jasmine oolong tea, leading the development of the industry. This marks the deep transformation of China's tea industry from traditional processing to intelligent manufacturing.